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News at ABAG | Back to
4/98 - 12/98 News  |
Tue Mar 14 15:03:15 PST 2000
Overflight Noise Forums
Representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the major commercial airports, and several regional planning agencies will attend the Forums to provide information about airport operations and how Bay Area airspace is managed. The focus of the forums will be on noise associated with the three major commercial airports-San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. These particular meetings will not address noise associated with the region's smaller general aviation airports.
The meetings are sponsored by the Regional Airport Planning Committee (RAPC), a joint planning committee of the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. RAPC has no authority over aircraft noise, but is hosting these meetings to provide a forum where the public's concerns can be aired and directed to the agencies that share this responsibility.
More information on over-flight noise is available.
Smart Growth: From Rhetoric to Reality
ABAG Spring 2000 General Assembly
April 27-28
Co-Sponsored by the San Francisco District Council of the Urban Land Institute.
This important two-day conference will challenge attendees to select a set of specific actions that local and state governments can take to change the way the region is growing.
ABAG Summer Internship 2000
Attention college juniors, seniors and graduate students:
ABAG is accepting applications until March 31, 2000 for
summer interns.
abagOnline Tracks Internet Sales Tax Issue
As a service to our members, abagOnline has established a resource page about the issues of an Internet sales tax. The Internet sales tax, currently on temporary hold by an act of Congress, would tax purchases conducted over the Internet. This is an issue for many local governments which rely on sales tax revenues and fear a loss of those revenues as sales shift from local stores to stores selling over the net. Our resource page may be found at http://www.abag.ca.gov/current_issues/salestax/internetaxes.html.
Regional Housing Needs
The ABAG Executive Board has approved the release of
the 1999-2006 Housing Needs Numbers for the Bay Area.
"Projections 2000" Receives Extensive Regional News Coverage
At a conference on Dec. 3, 1999, ABAG released its "Projections 2000" report. The biennial report summarizes the jobs and population outlook for the San Francisco Bay Area. The conference, "Transforming the Bay Area in the 21st Century," provided a 20-year economic and demographic forecast for the region, and its nine counties and 101 cities.
To review local media news articles, please select the corresponding links.
"S.F. expected to lead boom in Bay Area jobs by 2020," 12/3/99, San Francisco Chronicle
"Prepare for more growth," 12/6/99, San Francisco Chronicle
"Bay Area to see a madcap 20 years," 12/3/99, San Francisco Examiner
"Housing won't keep pace with Bay Area economic boom," 12/3/99, SF Gate
"Bay Area economy to prosper," 12/4/99, Oakland Tribune
"Bay Area can expect a job boom by 2020," 12/4/99, Contra Costa Times
"Planners see growth boom," 12/3/99, San Jose Mercury News
"Forecast sees surge in region's seniors," 12/4/99, San Jose Mercury News
"ABAG sees East Palo Alto job boom," 12/4/99, San Mateo County Times
"Population, job boom predicted," 12/3/99, Santa Rosa Press Democrat
"Forecast growth may not occur," 12/4/99, Santa Rosa Press Democrat
"Growth well running dry; water shortage may choke development," 12/5/99, Santa Rosa Press Democrat
"Marin growth to lag behind Bay Area," 12/4/99, Marin Independent Journal
GRASSCYCLE - A Workshop for Local Governments
ABAG is hosting a workshop about grasscycling for waste reduction. This workshop, on January 19, 2000 at the MetroCenter, culminates a 1999 program with demonstration campaigns in Napa, Solano, and Contra Costa counties. Come to our workshop and hear about the results of the local campaigns. Learn about approaches that worked and didn’t work. Hear about the California Integrated Waste Management Board’s plans for grasscycling in the year 2000. Finally, have lunch with your colleagues and engage in discussions about techniques you could employ in your own jurisdictions.
New Growth Forecasts for the Bay Area
On December 3, 1999, ABAG will release new long-term growth forecasts of population, employment, labor force, income, and households for the San Francisco Bay Area. Highlights of the forecasts will be presented at a half-day symposium, Transforming the Bay Area in the 21st Century.
ABAG Releases 2nd Online Course
The ABAG Training Center has released our second online training course - 8-hour Hazardous Waste Supervisor. This course may be accessed at www.hazmatschool.com.
This course follows the introduction of our 8-hr Hazardous Waste Refresher in June. We have had students register for this course from Oregon to Florida. Most have expressed their happiness at being able to take a required certification class at their leisure, without missing time at work. The ABAG Training Center is now looking for instructors to help us expand our course offerings into additional topic areas.
2nd Annual Power Matters Conference
ABAG Power will soon celebrate the one year anniversary of pooled purchasing of electric power for local governments. The lessons of the first year of electric market deregulation and the responses of the market are important to public agencies and anyone interested in saving on energy costs and staying informed. The Association of Bay Area Governments, one of the largest power aggregators in California, brings you POWER MATTERS `99, a one-day conference on topics related to the sale and purchase of electricity and gas by businesses and local governments.
Highlighting this event will be presentations by the heads of utility regulatory agencies in California, and a keynote presentation by State Senator Debra Bowen. The conference will be held at the Oakland City Center Marriott on October 28, in conjunction with the ABAG Power Board meeting. Attendees may register online for this annual event by clicking here.
Conference to Mark Ten-Year Anniversary of Loma Prieta
On Thursday, October 14, 1999, the ABAG Fall 1999 General Assembly will be held focusing on implementing the lessons learned from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The following day, October 15th, will focus on policy issues which still need to be addressed.
Click here for more information on conference sessions, including a registration form.
Aquatic Development Permit Workshops Scheduled
Aquatic projects – projects that take place by streams, along the coast, along the bay, in wetlands, or endangered species habitats - involve multiple permits from different agencies. The San Francisco Estuary Project and the Association of Bay Area Governments have been working with federal, state and local agencies since August, 1998, to develop one permit application that will serve the needs of the regulatory agencies as well as simplify the process for applicants. Find out about the new permit application, permitting agencies, and their mandates to protect the environment at one of the upcoming JARPA Aquatic Permitting Workshops.
ABAG POWER Goes Green
ABAG POWER today announced an agreement with Calpine Corporation to provide "green power" to ABAG POWER members. This renewable energy will light up government properties for 59 participating agencies, representing 6,000 meters, in Northern California beginning September 1999.
"We're very excited about our new partnership with Calpine," said Elena Schmid, ABAG POWER manager. "Not only will we supply green power to cities, counties and special districts, but we'll also provide significant energy savings to local governments. That's great news for our members and for their taxpayers," Schmid added.
Since the electric industry was restructured in April 1998, the use of green power has grown and now represents over 10% of energy produced in California. The California Energy Commission has encouraged this growth by administering a fund of $540 million for incentives for the development and use of renewable power production.
Calpine is one of the nation's fastest growing independent power companies based in San Jose, California. Calpine is dedicated to providing reliable and competitively priced electricity and thermal energy.
Net-Gov Local Government Workshop
The medium and tools of the Internet are evolving faster than any other technology in our history. Is your community or agency keeping up with the changes? Are you making full use of the speed and efficiencies the Internet brings to your business processes? Do you have an open community that encourages citizen involvement in local government?
The answers to these questions, and demonstrations of the newest local government Internet applications can be found at the Net-Gov Workshop on September 23 at the MetroCenter. Topics we will address include:
Attend the Workshop and take the opportunity to meet your colleagues from other public agencies.
- online procurement
- integrated justice
- economic development
- transit assistance
- community building
- online hearings
- smart permitting
Emeryville Wins Online Award
The City of Emeryville has won the 1999 Global Bangemann Challenge for its Brownfields Pilot Project's "One Stop Shop". The One-Stop Shop is a web application that allows landowners, developers, residents, and other interested parties to access land use zoning, property ownership, and environmental information on any parcel within the City of Emeryville. Visit this leading edge application at http://www.ci.emeryville.ca.us/.
New Online OSHA Training
The ABAG Training Center has launched the Bay Area's first totally online OSHA training course. The first course, in a planned series, is the annual 8-hr HAZWOPER Refresher for hazardous waste workers. Workers who are too busy to take a day off from work to attend class, or are located too far from an available classroom, can now fullfill their OSHA training requirements in their spare time at their personal computers. Only an Internet connection is required. Information about our first online course may be viewed at http://www.abag.ca.gov/abag/overview/training/AnnouncingOnline8hr.html . The ABAG Training Center is accredited to provide Continuing Education credits by the International Association of Continuing Education and Training.
New Grasscycling Campaign
ABAG was instrumental in helping the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority, City of Napa, and Solano County obtain grant funds from the California Integrated Waste Management Board. The grant, along with matching funds and labor from participants will be used to promote, demonstrate and implement the use of grasscycling (grass recycling) practices in Contra Costa, Napa and Solano counties. Grasscycling promises to diminish the volume of grass clippings being disposed of in California landfills and help local governments meet their solid waste reduction requirements. ABAG's grasscycling web site, http://grasscycle.abag.ca.gov provides information for the public and local government recycling coordinators.
Hometown Blues: Bay Area Housing and Growth Crisis
Frustrated with the rising price of housing? Tired of getting stuck in traffic? Anxious about how rapidly the region is growing? Watch "Hometown Blues," a 30-minute documentary on the Bay Area's housing and growth crisis-and what we could do about it-produced by the Association of Bay Area Government. Participate in the town hall meeting discussions that will follow each broadcast:
- Join us at Petaluma City Hall on Thursday, May 13 at 7 PM
- Tune in to Contra Costa Television (CCTV) on Wednesday, May 26 at 8 PM
- Tune in or join us in the San Jose studio of KTEH, channel 54 on Thursday, May 27 at 8 PM.
ABAG General Assembly on Sustainable Development
The Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Development is a coalition of public and private sector leaders that envision a Bay Area where the natural environment is vibrant, where the economy is robust and globally competitive, and where all citizens have equitable opportunities to share in the benefits of a quality environment and a prosperous economy. The first public review of a strategy to address critical challenges and achieve mutual goals for the Bay Area will take place at the ABAG General Assembly, on April 23, 1999. Your input and ideas are needed now!
Winter 1999 Training Classes Announced
The ABAG Training Center has released the schedule of classes for January - March, 1999. The listing and details may be viewed at http://www.abag.ca.gov/abag/overview/training/training.html. ABAG member discounts are allways provided and you may register online.
Regional Economic Outlook Conference: 1999 & 2000
ABAG will be presenting it's annual short-term economic conference on Friday, January 29, 1999 at 8:30am in the MetroCenter Auditorium in Oakland. Registration is required. If you are concerned about the regional economy and would like to know whether bears or bulls are in our future, ABAG's short-term economic conference is your best bet. Each year ABAG's research department, along with guest experts, provides a status report on jobs, retail sales and economic growth for the next two years in the nine-county Bay Area. Featured speakers will include:
- Ted Gibson - Chief Economist, California Department of Finance
- Paul Fassinger - Research Director, Association of Bay Area Governments
- Brian Kirking - Senior Regional Planner, Association of Bay Area Governments
- Gerd-Ulf Krueger - Deputy Chief Economist, California Association of Realtors
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